Hashmat Ghani Ahmadzai was born Oct 29, 1960 Logar Province in Afghanistan and studied in Afghanistan, Pakistan, France, New York, and Washington, DC. He earned his MBA in International Trade and Marketing and remains an active businessman in Afghanistan. He is the brother of Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, Chairman of the Institute for State Effectiveness and former Finance Minister of Afghanistan. Hashmat Ghani Ahmadzai owns land in the United States, Dubai, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.

Ahmadzai’s grandfather brought King Zahir Shah’s father, King Mohammed Nadir Shah, into power in the early 20th century. His father served King Zahir Shah in many ministerial roles, last holding the title of Minister of Transport from the late 1950s until the King was deposed in 1973. Following the overthrow of the King's government, Ahmadzai and his family joined the former King and royalists in exile as part of what came to be known as the Rome Group, which flourished as a political organization though it was not a formal political party. In this capacity, he oversees the Ahmadzai, one of the largest Pashtun tribes, a significant portion of which resides on the southeastern side of the Durand Line in Waziristan, which is semi-controlled by Pakistan. Ahmadzai has been a prominent leader assisting and securing the future of the Kuchi people in Afghanistan.

He became the Grand Council Chieftain of the Kuchis in 2002. Hashmat Ghani Ahmadzai, chief of the Grand Council of Kuchis, is among the wealthiest and most influential Kuchis, thanks to a large family inheritance based on land ownership as well as a successful transport company. He is also a vice president of an American security and reconstruction company. As chief of the Kuchi council, which represents the interests of largely settled Kuchi tribes, Ahmadzai deals with important Afghan politicians, including President Hamid Karzai. But he says ideas he has put forward to improve life for the poorest nomads, such as providing community centers and integrating them into settled societies, Ahmadzai advocated the establishment of an office for nomadic affairs within Karzai's administration. The office, according to Ahmadzai's vision, would help mediate land disputes and work to build trust among Kuchis and northern ethnic groups. Ghani belongs to the Ghilzai group of the Pashtuns. He is one of the wealthiest “Kuchis” and owns land in the USA (in Virginia and New York), in London, and Dubai.

The Ghani Group is a privately owned conglomerate company that operates subsidiaries dealing with security services to private and public clients, Import & Export, as well as Construction/Real Estate. Headquarters based in Kabul, Afghanistan which has a subsidiary that operate in Dubai, UAE.

He announced his candidacy for president of Afghanistan on 20131005 ahead of national elections in April 5, 2014 as one of 25 candidates, but dropped out.

Ghani is married to Feriha Ghani and has three children: two boys (Sultan Zamarai Ghani (born 1992), Amel Aimal Ghani) and a girl (Hannah Sofia Ghani, born in Virginia, USA).